Hot Off the Press

Select a Sensor Online

Friday, May 14, 2004

Banner Engineering, Minneapolis, MN, has introduced its iSelect photoelectronics sensor-selection tool to its website, www.bannerengineering.com/iSelect. A real-time interactive electronic catalog, iSelect helps users select a product from the company’s offerings. Users can find a sensor by size, mode, range and other features, can view sensor attributes and compare models side by side. The site includes a seamless interface between information and e-commerce, using a secure shopping cart.

Machine-Tool Sales Continue to Rise

Thursday, May 13, 2004

March U.S. machine-tool consumption climbed 60.5 percent over February, and is up 56.2 percent from March 2003 sales, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA) and AMT—the Association for Manufacturing Technology. Sales through March totaled $609.5 million, up 44.4 percent over 2003 sales. Year to date, the western region shows the biggest gains, up 76.4 percent over last year, with the central region a close second, up 61.4 percent. Sales in the northeast are up 59.4 percent; the midwest is up 48.1 percent. View all of the data at www.amtda.org.

The Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) network has been selected as one of 15 finalists for the Innovations in American Government Award, from the Harvard University John. F. Kennedy School of Government. Five winners will be announced July 28. MEP centers offer services aimed to help make small- and medium-sized manufacturers competitive.